Anyone experience 'dents' in thumbnails after glutenation episodes?

[slowbrain]

Hi all,

Although I have searched the web many times on this topic, I have not been able to find many discroptions of 'dents' that appear in thumbnails that appear after episodes of glutenation. I took one of the attached photos four weeks after I went GF. Observing the appearance of these dents served as one of my confirmations that I had finally hit upon the right diagnosis. I just completed a move to the UK and was unable to totally avoid gluten for several weeks. After I got straightened back out and got on the GF track again, another 'dent' appeared (second attached photo). Has anyone else experienced this?Hi all,

Although I have searched the web many times on this topic, I have not been able to find many descriptions of 'dents' that appear in thumbnails that appear after episodes of glutenation. I took one of the attached photos four weeks after I went GF. Observing the appearance of these dents served as one of the confirmations that I had finally hit upon the right diagnosis. I just completed a move to the UK and was unable to totally avoid gluten for several weeks. After I got straightened back out and got on the GF track again, another 'dent' appeared (second attached photo). Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks,
slowbrain

[jcc]

Very interesting dents you have! They are the best dent's I've seen to show the sort of dents my own daughter had in fingernails. The daughter who had these dents is my daughter who is gluten sensitive but refuses the diet because she believes the doctor who told her it wasn't necessary. But, HER dents did go away when we started giving her vitamins.

My daughter's nails were the worst when all of her symptoms were the worst, including seizures, mood swings, muscle spasms, etc. Dented fingernails and defective dental enamel are two reasons I asked the doctor to consider nutritional deficiency, but they weren't impressed and didn't even consider it :(. Years later we found she has a special need for extra zinc, B6 and a couple other B vitamins, along with a regular multivitamin.

So, I've concluded in our situation that the dents can be related to nutritional deficiency. I think I have found several different nutrients that may play a role in the past by googling around, but I'd have to do that again to remember which ones. That doesn't mean I discount the possibility that gluten could be directly related.

The true test will be if those dents stay away permanently once you are on a strict gluten free diet for the long haul!

Cara

[pakisa100]

I'd never noticed!!:eek: Mine are gone!! Hooray!! :cool:

I must say that all through my childhood and right into my late 20s (when I used to go to the salon to have my nails done every week), I was always aggravated about those dents... esp. when the nail polish couldn't hide them well enough... which was what I always anticipated.

I always thought they made me look... not quite 'finished'.

Anyway, it's been a long time since the days of chemicals and nailpolish for me just because I've always been either pregnant or nursing a babe for the last 10 years.

I looked at your pictures and went to compare mine with yours... which I was thinking look pretty close... And when I looked at mine... they are smooth as smooth can be! :cool:

We've been gf almost 4 years now.

[klasyjo]

I don't have the dents, only the moons/lines. Here is some information I found:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003247.htm

http://marrowfailure.cancer.gov/DC.html

http://pennhealth.com/ency/article/003247.htm

http://www.aad.org/public/Publications/pamphlets/NailHealth.htm

http://www.lifespan.org/adam/healthillustratedencyclopedia/1/003247.html

These might help you decide more what to research and go from there.

[Hanna]

One of my children get bruised nails without pain. What do you think? He is not the anemic one.

[pakisa100]

Those were great links! Thanks.

Ds has clubbed toe nails. They were always difficult to cut, right from when he was born because they curled down into his skin at the tip of his toe if I didn't keep right on top of making sure they were trimmed. Even when we trim them regularly, it is a bit uncomfortable for him. His big toes are fine and straightening out now (almost 4 years into the diet) but the second toe, which was always the worst, is still the one he will complain about when we trim it, though it's no where near as bad as it was when he was small (pre-gf). I could hardly get the clipper under his nail back then. Before we were gf they were far worse.


He was primarily (as a tiny infant) tested for heart and lung issues and cystic fibrosis.

In the pictures, they always show the whole tip of the finger being 'swollen' and looking, kind of, fatter than the rest of the finger. In his case, this is not very apparent... but in the photos, it's not apparent that the nail can curve enough to curve downward enough to grow into the skin.

I went to highschool with a girl who had clubbed fingers and they did look just like the photos. Her nails did not curve downward enough to grow into the skin.

His fingernails are beautiful and always have been though. He's got really gorgeous little hands. :)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003282.htm
Definition Return to top

Clubbing is a thickening of the flesh under toe and finger nails. The nail curves downward, instead of lying flat.

Considerations Return to top

Clubbing is associated with a wide number of diseases. It is most often noted in heart and lung diseases that cause decreased blood oxygen and blue skin (cyanosis).

Clubbing may also be due to lung lung cancer, and diseases of the liver and the gastrointestinal tract.

Clubbing may also occur in families. In this case it may not be due to an underlying disease.

Common Causes Return to top

* Congenital heart disease (cyanotic type)
o Tetralogy of Fallot
o Tricuspid atresia
o Transposition of the great vessels
o Total anomalous venous return
o Truncus arteriosus
* Cystic fibrosis
* Bronchiectasis
* Lung abscess
* Crohn's disease
* Celiac disease
* Cirrhosis
* Lung cancer
* Pulmonary fibrosis

Home Care Return to top

There is no specific treatment for the clubbing itself. Home care depends on the specific diagnosis.

Call your health care provider if Return to top

If you notice clubbing, call your health care provider.

What to expect at your health care provider's office Return to top

A person with clubbing generally has other symptoms and signs that define a specific condition. Diagnosis of that condition is based on family history, medical history, and a physical exam that looks at the lungs and chest.

Medical history questions may include:

* When did you first notice this?
* Does it affect the fingers, toes, or both?
* Has it been becoming more noticeable?
* What other symptoms are also present?
* Is there any breathing difficulty?
* Is the skin ever bluish colored?

The following tests may be done:

* Chest x-ray
* Chest CT scan
* EKG
* Echocardiogram
* Arterial blood gas
* Pulmonary function tests

References Return to top

Zipes DP, Libby P, Bonow RO, Braunwald E, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, 7th ed. St. Louis, Mo; WB Saunders; 2005:78-79.

Murray J, Nadel J. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2000:506.

Spicknall KE. Clubbing: an update on diagnosis, differential diagnosis, pathophysiology, and clinical relevance. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2005; 52(6): 1020-8

Update Date: 2/14/2006
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/1598.htm

[slowbrain]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm still at a loss. The best match is iron deficiency anemia but I've been checked for that. Perhaps I go in and out of an iron deficient state and that's why my nails go through these changes.

The best thing I can do is remain GF for a long time and check to see that the dents stay gone. I've only been diagnosed since April 1st (an easy to remember anniversary) so, as you can imagine, I am still trying to successfully avoid all the gluten traps.

Marc

[annelb]

They sure seem to match the nails of those with iron deficiency. What tests have you have to check for that? What were the results?
Anne

[klasyjo]

The best thing I can do is remain GF for a long time and check to see that the dents stay gone. I've only been diagnosed since April 1st (an easy to remember anniversary) so, as you can imagine, I am still trying to successfully avoid all the gluten traps.
Marc

Hang in there Marc - you'll find answers with time, unfortunate but true. I've been GF for nearly 2 years now. My symptoms have pretty much disappeared, it's the complications of Celiac that tend to hang on much longer.

Have your vitamin levels all been checked? Iron can be affected by B12 and other vitamins as well. Some medications can inhibit iron absorbtion as well.